GE Tax Surcharge Coming to Hawai‘i County, Tax Filings to Open Jan. 2

The Hawai‘i Department of Taxation (DOTAX) will begin accepting taxpayer filings on Jan. 2, 2020.

All returns, including individual income tax, can be filed on Hawaii Tax Online. All updated (Rev. 2019) paper forms will be posted on DOTAX’s website and most printed forms are available at district offices. Modernized e-File through the Internal Revenue Service is expected to begin receiving returns on Jan. 21, 2020.

Last year, DOTAX processed close to 750,000 individual income tax returns, over 500,000 of which were filed electronically. Revenue from this tax is the state’s second largest source of revenue and accounts for 31% of total tax collection.

DOTAX has also announced the following updates and changes for 2020.

FORM CHANGES

Some DOTAX forms have been changed for 2020 to implement new rates, laws and processes. These forms are identified with “Rev. 2019.” All taxable periods including and after Jan. 1, 2020, must use the “Rev. 2019” or the most current version of the form to ensure that the tax rates are correct and to avoid processing delays.

HAWAI‘I COUNTY SURCHARGE INCREASE

Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the Hawai‘i County surcharge on the General Excise (GE) tax will increase from 0.25% to 0.50%. Businesses may pass on the GE tax and county surcharge to customers at a maximum rate of 4.712%.

MANDATORY E-FILING

More tax types will be required to mandatory e-file for taxable periods beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2020. These include: Corporate income (Form N-30), withholding for employers whose annual liability exceeds $40,000 (Form HW-14), franchise (Form F-1), public service company (Form U-6), and estate and generation-skipping transfers (Form M-6).

For General Excise (G45, G-49) and Transient Accommodations (TA-1, TA-2) tax returns for taxpayers who are required to file monthly returns (whose annual estimated tax liability is greater than $4,000) will also be required to mandatory e-file annual returns for tax year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2020, and periodic returns for periods beginning on or after July 1, 2020. For more information, go online.